Thoughts on the Silent Hill Films

A recent debate, and by debate, I mean whiny, circular argument, when it comes to movies is the issue of swapping an established character’s gender without any real reason to. Is it ever a good idea? Well, in short, no. Except for the rare case where the character has no set gender – this sometimes happens in video games where the characters are androgynous or animals – it is never a good idea. Why? Because it’s almost always a lazy, cynical attempt to be “feminist”. Case in point, the first Silent Hill film.

I actually feel confident recommending the first Silent Hill movie to people. In my opinion, it’s the only good movie based off of a video game, and in its own right is a stylish, well-made horror movie. However, it takes some egregious liberties with the source material that make parts of frustrating if you’re familiar with the series. Probably the most obvious is swapping the protagonist Harry Mason’s gender, turning him into the female lead, Rose DaSilva.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think the actress does a really good job. I have no issue with her or even the character. What I do take issue with is the reason for the change, which is pretty damn offensive. Why they changed Harry to Rose is that they didn’t think a father would go to such odds to save his adopted daughter, that her mother would be more likely to. Like, that is seriously their reasoning. Just… why!? Have they never met human beings? Did they not learn anything from this series at all? The whole point of Silent Hill, when it’s boiled down, was the insane limits Harry would go to to get his daughter back.

The first Silent Hill already had an almost all-female cast, with the exceptions of Harry and Dr. Kaufmann, who wasn’t included in the film. If they wanted to make a film with a strong female lead, there was already three to choose from in Cybil, Lisa, or even Alessa Gillespie, though she’s more of an anti-villain. They tried to shove in Rose DaSilva, and another Harry Mason-esque character in her husband, rather than just have Harry be the main character. Oh, and they also added this weird witch-burning woman named Christabella as one of the main antagonists. That character wasn’t a terrible add-in, but nonetheless gives me traumatic flashbacks to the Silent Hill comics.

Rant aside, it’s still one of my favourite adaptations. True, I think they probably could have done a more accurate adaptation, and if this were to be remade as a mini-series (hint, hint, any filmmakers reading this) I wouldn’t mind, but it’s clear that so much talent and love went into making this movie. The special effects are phenomenal, over a decade later, and a lot was actually hand-crafted. If you have the time, there’s a 30-minute documentary on the making of this film that you should watch. It’s on most of the DVD versions, probably on YouTube too. It is probably better to view the first film as an homage rather than a straight-up adaptation, because it does glomp together themes from other parts of the series, not that that’s a bad thing.

Trying Unusual Candies From Japan

 

Strange candy is a topic that fascinates me, though I, uh… wish it didn’t. Sugar loads a nice sucker punch to my gut every time I give it a chance, so I try to actively avoid candy. (Candy is bad for you, kids.) Odd flavours of candies, however, notably KitKats in Japan was something I feel a lot of people are curious about, and I’ve always wondered too, so when the opportunity cropped up, I thought I’d tell you what the experience was like! KitKats have such a variety and popularity in Japan because the name sounds like a Japanese word for “winner” or “sure winner”, so are thought to be something of a good luck charm for students.

First thing I noticed is that, compared to Western candy, these were not that sweet at all. Even the ordinary KitKat was far from that saccharine, milky taste they have in the Americas. But the so-called “weird” flavours were delicious.
Some of note were the roasted tea (the one with the cup of tea on the second row) and melon and marscapone (bottom left). The roasted tea has a savory, bitter taste that’s quite rare and unexpected in a piece of candy. It tasted almost grain-like, reminding me strongly of dry noodles with its texture.
The melon and marscapone cheese was, oh, absolutely the best. It was one of the sweeter ones, but again, not in that syrupy way. There was a more natural melon flavour with a cheesy softness afterwards. Just hearing “melon and cheese”, that might not sound like a tasty combination, but believe me, it was! The green tea and wasabi were also interesting, though definitely for more of a bitter pallet. I don’t really see those being popular with children. They seemed like more “mature” flavours to me. The wasabi wasn’t spicy, which is what surprised me the most.